Ynetnews - News - Johnnie Walker not kosher?

It's nice not to have to even think of Hamas next door. I can contemplate the arguments for and against declaring aged whisky as non kosher with a quiet mind. I have great confidence in the Orthodox community to come to a sensible decision on this one. Still it will leave more for the rest of us.

Declan Walsh reports on Afghanistan

Very soon, thousands of British troops will be heading for Helmand in Afghanistan with a prolonged meeting with Taliban die-hards and narco terrorists. I think a stint in Gaza would be easier. Together with 8,500 troops in Iraq that makes some 15,000 soldiers and airpersons exclduing the 3,500 in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman.

Note to the UK Defence Minister Dr John Reid. Read up on the Anglo-Afghan wars (1839-1842, 1878-1881 and 1919) and then stop trying to cut back on the infantry battalions yet again.

Meme of four: Cathy

This blog has been tagged by She to do the Meme of four. Whathefuck? Oh, it’s that list-publishing fad spreading like bird flu through the blogosphere. Tempting as it is to turn my nose up at such a common event, I will rise to the challenge. But as is my style, I’ll do my best to stretch the boundaries of such an exercise. Anyway, it would take me too long to determine my absolute favourites or bests – I’m not a good list compiler. So instead here are the first 4 in each category that pop into my head. You’ll find I’ve ignored some categories and added others...

Four professional jobs I’ve had:
Housing lobbyist
Managing director of a trade association
Managing director of a business newsletter publisher
Working in a Jewish bookshop with Mrs Egghead

Four non-professional jobs I’ve had (aside from the obligatory kibbutz meetnadev/et jobs):
Assembly worker in cosmetics factory
Behind the tea counter at Crufts
Supervisor of a miniature golf (crazy golf) course
Renovating student digs between tenants

Four websites I visit daily (other than the blogroll):
BBC News
El Reg
Haaretz
The Grauniad

Four places I’ve lived:
California
Washington DC
Dublin
Tel Aviv

Four places I’ve lived in London (now: Highgate):
Barnes
Barbican
Ealing
Kilburn

Four non-US and non-UK/Ireland cities I’ve visited:
Naples
Paris
Worms
Athens

Four UK/Irish hills and mountains I’ve walked in:
County Cork
Cotswolds
Sutherland
Lake District

Four US wildernesses I’ve backpacked into or white-watered down:
Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho
YoSemite, California
Middle/Main Salmon River, Idaho
Rogue River, Oregon

Four UK places I’ve driven very fast in:
Mid Wales
Sutherland
M40 Buckinghamshire
Applecross

Four cars I’ve owned (now=MR2 GT T-bar):
Ford Mustang
VW Golf
Ford Fiesta van
Lancia Delta Integrale

Four cars I want:
Noble M40
Lotus Elise
Lotus Exige
Caterham CSR

Four meats I like:
Fish (with fins and scales)
Venison
Springfield farm organic chicken
Lamb

Four carbs I like:
Pizza (from Naples)
Polenta
Potatoes
San Francisco sourdough bread

Four veg I like:
Avocado
Artichoke
Asparagus
Aubergine

Four favourite restaurants:
Providores
Sally Clarkes
Pied a Terre
Glasshouse

Four films I like:
Marx Brothers: all of them
Hairspray
Matrix 1 and 2 (3 was shite)
Sylvia Scarlet

Four vintage TV shows I like:
Star Trek: all series except that silly prequel
Doctor Who
Faulty Towers
Adams Family

Four live comedians:
Gilbert Gottfreid
Joan Rivers
Mel and Sue

Four dead comedians:
Three Stooges
Richard Pryor

Four dance music (house, breaks, electronica) albums/downloads:
All the Fabric breakbeats
Nag Nag Nag club compilation
Y4K
Basement Jaxx

Four dance music DJs:
Adam Freedland
Meat Katie
Kellilicious
Annie Nightningale

Four classical musicians:
Danny Driver
Rebecca Miller
Cecilia Bartoli
Ralph Kirschbaum

Four 70s-80s music:
Talking Heads / David Byrne
Pet Shop Boys
Madness
The Clash

Four favourite sports:
Swimming
Snow skiing
Water skiing
Rollerblading

Four authors:
Linda Grant
Gish Jen
Shere Hite
Monica Ali

Four near-death experiences:
Flying into an air pocket in a Cessna 172 and dropping several thousand feet
Lymphoma
Dermoid
Full spin on an icy, snowy hairpin mountain pass

(that’s enough playing around with the 4-kin concept, ed)

Adrian?

Palmach and the Old Port

The Eggheads went to the Palmach Museum with relatives on Friday. The eldest member of the party was in the Palmach and we all enjoyed the very moving experience. Not a conventional museum but an experience. You go through a number of rooms following a group of recruits from 1941 to 1950 as they train and fight. There is a documentation centre attached and Mrs Egghead was interested to find photographs from the place she was born. It was abandoned as a settlement though.

We went to the old Tel Aviv port which is having a makeover. The fairly stormy weather on the promenade made it fun and the fish lunch finished a very enjoyable day. I would like to thank the family from Hadera who found my daughter's mobile phone at the side of the road where she dropped it and took the trouble to track us down and keep it until we could pick it up.

Anti-Zionism at Davos - Delving into Davos - Blogs - International Herald Tribune

This is annoying. Mazin Qumsiyeh, a geneticist manages to get an article published in the Davos Magazine which, allegedlly, calls for a boycott of Israel and equates Sinism with racism. I can't find the original text!

Hamas wins

The reactions I have heard locally are generally similar to "What- it did?" followed by a pause and a shake of the head. Now Israel faces multiple challenges with elections in a few weeks. Hamas as the big guy on the block? They didn't expect that and weren't ready for taking power. Now, the man in the Palestinian street will expect things he didn't from the ever-so-slightly reformed PLO turned business-man Fatah. Hamas will have to deliver. What they will deliver remains to be seen. It might be more of the recycled TOW anti tank missiles than sometimes turn up from 'Them Up North'. Thanks Ollie. A strong desire to cut a dash in Washington may prove more compelling.

Hamas has won?

It's an early return but this is unexpected news.

The latest polls

What a surprise. Kadima is up to 44 seats with Labour coming second with 21. Those two parties could form a government without anybody else. Likud drops to 14 with Shinui not getting any and the Green Leaf party maybe getting two seats.
Meretz-Yahad goes down to three. Ah well. The election is still a bit away.

Tommy Lapid goes..

Tommy Lapid , the leading light of that quintessential 'No jews here' has finally gone. I never felt much sympathy for him or his party. The many varied observant Jews have kept the faith and inspired so much it seemed odd to have a party dedicated to keeping them out of politics whatever your feelings about scrounger haredim. So many observant Jews work hard to make a living.

He did it in the normal grand Israeli style though:

If I received substantial credit for Shinui's accomplishments, I must take responsibility for the current crash of the party. I take responsibility, but I don't feel guilty," Lapid said.

In other words, it's not my fault. I see that there will be a 'son-of-shui' getting to divvy up the party assets. The voters will reward them in the manner they deserve.

In honour of a bigwig visitor from the Left Pond, I decided to dress up and amaze the natives. Here's a partial shot. The personnel manager couldn't stop laughing. A straw poll of my co workers produced the not surprising result that 70% of Israelis do not own a tie, have never worn one and never intend to.

Lots of compliments came my way. Only from females though.

BBC to drop Radio 4 UK theme

At last! No longer will I have the final few hours of my repose irritatingly interrupted at 0530 GMT or BST by those dreaded words “and now the Radio 4 UK theme” followed by a cacophonous naff medley of traditional tunes arranged in cringe-making Last Night of the Proms-style patriotism. I have developed an almost reflex action to switch over to BBC London or LBC where the talking usually sends me back to sleep within minutes.

Instead it seems the nation will be treated to a calming, seamless voice-only transition from the BBC World Service to a Radio 4 news briefing followed by The Shipping Forecast - - a truly unique institution that shows no signs of disappearing. My favourite offshore: Fastnet. My favourite weather station: Channel Light Vessel Automatic.

“Farming Today and Prayer for the Day will not be affected by the changes.”

Not yet anyway.

Hazit

There is an Israeli party you may not have heard off. It's Hazit. The normal push them out and take it all over.

Israelis downbeat about chances for Middle East peace

This headline from Ha'Aretz is rather odd. It states that most Israelis are pssimestic about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with nearly half saying there will be no change for the next 20 years. I feel the opposite. If Kadima wins as seems likely, even with Hamas around there might be a chance. What could drop Israel is a perceived need for a preemptive strike on Iran. Less and less likely these days.

p.s This entry written using Performancing, the blog add in for Firefox 1.5.

The joys of central heating

Being a skilled generalist doesn’t just mean getting involved in a wide range of professional work and doing a multidisciplinary PhD in law. As a Jill-of-all-trades I can wield a mean spanner, drill or other tool as appropriate. Good Sport is also very handy around the (pent)house. This has saved us lots of aggro and ££££ - and has minimised having to hear that all-too-common inane phrase from builders “ssssssp [that intake of breath through clenched teeth they do] it’ll cost ya.’”

Recently we experienced the dreaded winter problem of Cold Radiators Even Though The Thermostats Are At Max. Yes it’s that bloody motorised valve…. or with a zed if you are yank but then you’d say zee…


This piece of kit must have been designed by plumbers for plumbers and plumbers merchants to help maximise their income. It seems to be the weakest link in the chain of keeping warm in this country in the winter, even though it is essential for firing up the boiler and controlling the flow of hot water to the central heating and hot water. And it’s not something either of us would want to diy…so it will be done at the next boiler service.

In the meantime on the odd occasions when the motorised valve goes on strike a well-placed gentle knock and a swizzle of the manual-automatic cocktail stick is all it takes to get the boiler to fire up and the heating to come back on. We’ve also found by chance that the same result can be achieved just by running the hot water for a few minutes…

Work sorrows

Now that the management have noticed it's 2006 with deadlines looming, it's time to come down hard on people who leave before 1900 hrs. I see my early starts getting later. The free Pizza is supposed to be compensation. Not for this keyboard warrior. I insist on chicken and chips.

After a day of frantic struggles, the London whale dies a lonely death

I wasn't following the 'Whale in the Thames' story much but it appears the rest of the world has. Including my lunchmates who berated the 'Whale Killing Brits' for allowing it to die in the first place, and secondly, being over absorbed in one mammal when there are millions dying around the world. I stayed sensibly silent.

Shaul Mofaz

Shaul Mofaz speak on Iran and what Israel's position is. You may remember him as they guy running for the Likud leadership recently and then jumping ship to Kadima when it became clear he wasn't going to win.

"You, who are leading your country in an ideology of hatred, terror and antisemitism. You had better take a glance at history and see what became of tyrants like you who tried to annihilate the Jewish people. They only brought destruction upon their own people," he said.

He hinted at a possible stike but maintained that Israel supports diplomatic efforts for now. So, if Israel is the stick, what will be the carrot?

UK Embassy in Israel ripped off

Plonkers. Trusting someone without checking? Tut tut. Still, only a million out of the UK taxpayers pocket.

The Iran Charade, Part II

Charles Krauthammer opines on the Iran situation and blames it all on the Europeans of course. He manages to poo-poo everything yet fails to offer any alternative. He also seems to thinks that while Europe is very unhappy at the propect of $100 per barrel oil, the USA would be overjoyed. I now look forward to decisive and prompt action led by the USA.

Computers

I spend all week with the things and then most of the weekend. Either on the phone to friends walking them through various procedures and then finding and removing a very stubborn Trojan. Damn all virus/trojan/worm/adaware/spyware/malware authors. Visions of horsewhips and boiling oil come into my mind.

Suicide bomber strikes at Tel Aviv bus station

Another one got through although only wounded Israelis so far.

Raising Yousuf: a diary of a mother under occupation

A blog from Gaza here. Read all about the other side especially the elections.

It can't be...

I'm sure they're not related.

Herzog, Pines-Paz are big winners in Labor primary

More new faces in Labour's line up. Interesting to see Ami Ayalon up there. He's had an interesting career including head of the Navy and Shin Bet. He gave a very thoughful speech at a rally I attended.

We, who protest here, do not succeeded to flow into the majority of the people. The majority {Hebrew: "Ha-Rov" ????} is silent and therefore does not influence. I will tell you why the majority is not here. They are not here because we didn't managed to settle in the hearts {Hebrew: ?????? ??????, originally a phrase invented by the settlers} of this true majority, who makes the difference. We didn't managed to talk and perhaps we didn't even wanted to. We turned the settlers of Yesha into enemies and in lordship manner we banished them outside the fence. We'll only succeed when the grief of the evacuees will overcome the joyous cry of the evacuators. We claimed the desire to peace solely as our own. {Therefore} The majority sits at home and is quiet, although he wants out of Gaza the same that we do. The majority doesn't care, and shouldn't care, who's the one who will sign the accord to end the {Israeli-Palestinian} conflict. In order to get out of Gaza, the majority in the people must stop to be silent.

Rula Lenska

I downloaded the video of Gorgeous George pretending to be a cat. I wish I hadn't now. It shows how out of touch I am when I had to look up who Rula Lenska is. Famous for not being famous. Oh well.

David Levy spouts off again

It's a conspiracy! Of course. What else? He objects to be placed 36th on the Kadima list. I also note that the Mayor of New Orleans seems to be another character who has a direct link to the mind of God. What is it with politicos that makes them utter inanities?

Court acquits Hilltop youth leader accused of assault

Let me get this straight. I'm accused of a crime, I admit that I committed these crimes in court. I am then acquitted because the victims testimony was 'exaggerated and was unreliable'.

Words fail me. There is one law for Israeli Jews, another for Israeli Arabs and yet another set for Palestinians, at least in Israel courts.

Galloway can no longer count on the indulgence of polite society

Nick Cohen is on even finer fettle in this week’s newly petite-ified Observer.

He argues that Gorgeous will no longer be tolerated by polite society now that he has performed in Celebrity Big Brother. The liberal (small l) middle classes were quite prepared to put up with an anti-democratic thug who :

• gave knee-jerk (or is that arm-raised) support every anti-American tyrant
  
• performed an insulting stand up routine in front of the US Senate protesting his innocence in the face of evidence of his corruption
  
• won a seat in parliament by a perverse alliance between Islamic fundamentalists and revolutionary trots of the Socialist Workers’ Party (yes there are still enough of these creatures around to foment violent hate) – it’s the SWP that runs G’s “Respect” party.
  

Gorgeous in the CBB house: now there’s another thing altogether. How could he represent his constituents? Is this proper behaviour for the august office of Member of Parliament? Cohen argues that far from being sinister, Celebrity Big Brother should win a BAFTA for exposure of the truly sinister.

In another piece on the same page, Cohen exposes the Muslim Council of Britain’s uncivilised primitive position on freedom of speech. Ikbal Sickbal and Co think they are free to utter public statements that are not just homophobic but likely to result in inciting hatred against gays -- the police are investigating. Gay and secular leaders have said that it is Sickbal’s right of free speech to be ignorant and foolish in public. The MCB has not returned the compliment. It only wants freedom of speech to promulgate hateful nonsense but wants to silence (including by killing) anyone – including other Muslims – who speaks for democracy and modernism and against terrorism, fundamentalism and Islamism.

It's Monday - The End of the World is nigh.

Just the thing for a wet Monday morning. Michael McCarthy from the Indie reports that James Lovelock, the man who came up with the Gaia hypothesis, is now saying it's too late.

The world has already passed the point of no return for climate change, and civilisation as we know it is now unlikely to survive

That's a bit of a blow.

The world and human society face disaster to a worse extent, and on a faster timescale, than almost anybody realises, he believes. He writes: " Before this century is over, billions of us will die, and the few breeding pairs of people that survive will be in the Arctic where the climate remains tolerable."

I will spare you his reasoning , especially the expected change in aerosol induced dimming. You might like to think about moving to Greenland.

Elections and ethics

I see that Shimon Peres has resigned from the Knesset today. However , he did not see fit to resign from the Labour party that he's been with so many years as it would stop him standing for another party. Dalia Itzik followed suit.

Currently, Olmert holds fifteen (15) ministerial posts , something of an Israeli and possibly a world record. I wouldn't have his job for anything.

srael reconsiders decision to cut ties with Pat Robertson

He did say sorry. Israel is generously considering letting him eat falafel and humous again. This has nothing to do with the very large centre for visiting Christians being built by the Kinneret by his organisation. Nothing at all. In no way shape or form. Oh, and expect ructions over the placement.

Wet , foggy with snow

This must be the most unlikely headline you could imagine in Israel. Rain and snow draw tourists up North? I blinked very hard when I read this one. The Eggheads of course , have plenty of memories of being wet, cold and very muddy on our many walks back in the UK when the children had no choice but to come with their parents. Now we can look out of the window and the solid pounding of rain and sip hot soup.

Jew-hater lunatic of the week

I can’t decide between the pinhead peon president of Venezuela and the idiot islamist president of Iran.

The ppp’s rant: "descendants of those who crucified Christ … have grabbed all the world's riches for themselves".

The iip’s delusion: Western supporters of Israel are "war criminals" and will soon be “put on trial in Palestinian courts.”

Weather

It's raining. Not the quick heavy showers we're used to but the steady downpour normally to be found in the UK. Hour after hour of it. That's quite enough for today thanks. The weeds are growing faster than they can be removed.

George Galloway caption competition from Guardian Unlimited: News blog

Fans of gorgeous George Galloway, he of the 'I love Saddam fame - no cheques please', may care to enter the Guardian caption competition for a picture of him on Celebrity Big Brother. I think my entry is bound to win.

Haaretz - Israel News - Shinui head Lapid mulls quitting party, forming a new one

It looks like Shinui, the very essence of the secular Israeli party has imploded in a small number of splinters going nowhere as Avraham Poraz failed to get a spot in the party line up. Still, never give in, they may have a part to play yet. This is the end of Israeli politics as we knew it; left and right are charging towards the centre where the anxious Israeli voter has always been leaving roadkill behind them. Who will get there first?

Life in Israel - 2006 and onwards

We still wait with bated breath to see what happens to the now beloved Prime Minister while the Gazans pop off the occasional Qassam missile into Israel. The IDF fire back with 155mm artillery and the planes take off again. The Likud Ministers were supposed to resign today but have refused claiming surprise. Well, pre Sharon stroke they agreed.

Anti Semitism in its most violent form is alive and stabbing in Russia.

Another West Bank illegal outpost is due for demolishing today. In their spare time, some settlers practise tree surgery primarily on olive trees belonging to Palestinians. Israel has broken off contacts with Pat Robertson (no more bagels for you my boy). Hamas claims to have stopped calling for the destruction of Israel (ah-hmmm) and is busy getting into the fast moving world of television. The recent Katyusha rocket attack into the Gailiee was ordered by Osama bin Laden according to Abu Musab Zarqawi. The IDF would like to apologise to Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The retaliation was misdirected. Sorry about that.

Finally, once we've got through all the above, Iran keeps coming into view and Israelis have one more thing to argue about. Oh, and it's raining. Almost like the UK for weather. Have a happy day.

How many internet mega-markets do we need?

So Google has started to sell online videos and is trial-ballooning selling e-books (with copyright holders’ permission and cooperation of course). It may well expand further into selling anything it can justify as “information”. Ebay has expanded from a place where individuals can auction or buy/sell individual items into a massive marketplace / shopping mall of stalls / shops – and having acquired Skype has moved into “telephony”/voip. Amazon has expanded from just selling books directly into a similar wide marketplace for third party etailers.

Which one of these companies will be the first to (try to) acquire the other? Which will eat or be eaten by another large retailer such as Borders?

Reviving Sharon with shawarma

So some of the finest medical practitioners on the planet have decided to help Arik Sharon wake up with the subtle use of a plate of shawarma. Of course. Ingeniously simple.

PA in trouble - again

As we wait for the slightest news from Jerusalem, the World Bank man is heading back to Washington not feeling very happy. In the last five years, Palestinians have been receiving the highest per capita aid ($300 per) of any world group. Regretfully, things are getting worse, not better Nigel Roberts said.

At the beginning of 2005, when Abu Mazen was elected president, we hoped for new momentum in the direction of governmental reforms and the fight against corruption, and in legislation - the most essential steps for encouraging private investments," explains the senior representative of the World Bank. Arafat died, but everything pertaining to the corrupted system of government, the "Arafatism," is still alive and kicking, Roberts says. "Arafat created a system that was tailored to a liberation movement, but not for a state at a time of reconciliation. We did not think that becoming accustomed to new norms would take so much time.

I'm beginning to doubt it ever will.

General Rose - Blair must be impeached over Iraq

Here's a thing. General Sir Michael Rose, former adjutant general of the British Army is calling for Tony Blair to be impeached. The article makes some interesting points but fails to carry the case. It is true that Tony Blair did not cite regime change as a reason but President Bush surely did and it was clear to all that this part of the reason for war.
He mentions disaffected voters but fails to point out that those same disaffected voters turned out in sufficient numbers to win the Labour party another term in office. No, impeachment should be a last ditch method of removing a leader. It would not help the UK at all to have a bruising long lasting and bitter impeachment trial in the House of Lords. The last one was in 1806 after all.

Max Hastings on Israel

Max Hastings has a rather nice piece in the Guardian on Israel.

A Washington strategy guru, both Jewish and Zionist, remarked to me matter-of-factly a couple of months ago: "We shall not see a resolution of the Israel-Palestine issue in our lifetimes." I agreed with him, and that was while Sharon was still in charge.

He goes on to list the large number of border/territory conflicts around the world including Gibralter and Northern Island.Finally:

Yet the arrogance of military supremacy has caused Israel's ambitions to overreach themselves. I fear that the Washington friend whom I quoted at the outset was probably right. The Israelis will remain insufficiently despairing to make indispensable territorial concessions. The Americans will not oblige them to do so. The Palestinians will remain unable to muster a credible negotiating position. Sharon's departure will not alter these fundamentals.

Mark Heller in the IHT offers this piece.

Many on the "soft left" who were committed to a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians have come to believe that peace cannot be attained at a tolerable price (and would in any case not be honored by the other side) - which is what the right always claimed. Many on the "soft right" who were committed to the Land of Israel have come to believe that the territorial status quo cannot be sustained at a tolerable price - which is what the left always claimed.

I agree.

National Nitwit: Robertson: Zarqawi Canker Sore "God's Wrath"

Subcomandante has a very funny post on Pat Robertson, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his mouth ulcers. Go read. Here in Red Sea Pedestrian Land, we await the news from Jerusalem.

The weekend of waiting - dead Kennedy and dead to the world

Here, we’re waiting for the bloated red-faced red-eyed Chas Kennedy to emerge from his latest denial and resign as LibDem party leader. Yes he is and will always be an alcoholic. Nu? you might say. After all, one of the less pleasant aspects of living here is that so many Anglo-Saxon and Celtic Brits are alcoholically challenged - especially in industries such as politics. His fatal slip was to deny it not to be it then to ignore what is best for his party. Errors of judgement.

There, we’re waiting for the man in the suit he never wears except on these rare occasions to emerge from Hadassah and announce end to be nigh so we can move on from this fraught, polite limbo. Even If Sharon hangs on to life the very best he would be is some sort of elder-oracle that politicians are seen to visit. Good luck Ehud Olmert in the challenges ahead.

White House condemns Robertson's comments

I see even Pat Robertson gets into Israeli politics now. I thought it was Muslim fanatics and Jewish extremists who claim to have a hotline into the mind of the Lord.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment for "dividing God's land."

It all seems rather gloomy from here.

Iraq not having a good day. President Bush promises to listen

I'm interested to read that President Bush has gathered a large collection of previous foreign policy advisors and is taking their advise to heart. This could be a way forward to unite the USA and possibly the Western world into making good a bad policy. Attendees (note: no apostrophe) were:

Madeleine Albright ,William Cohen,William Perry (Kerry advisor),Harold Brown (blast from the past),Robert McNamara (still alive?),Colin Powell,James A. Baker III,Lawrence Eagleburger,Alexander Haig,George Shultz,Frank Carlucci,James Schlesinger and Melvin Laird.
No ex presidents this time. Didn't a previous President try this once?

Was in Hebrew - didn't Unicode properly

I finally found the Kadima website. Regretfully, it suggest I view it using Internet Explorer so it joins my ever growing list of web sites to avoid. Anyway, what kind of domain name is http://www.kadimasharon.co.il?

What about kadima.co.il? Ahh, it's there at last.

Ehud Olmert

For those of you who are not familiar with Ehud Olmert, you can read his Wikipedia entry. It has become a challenge using Wikipedia on a regular basis as I often correct typos and spelling mistakes. True in this case as well.

Ha'Aratez has an update.

Surgeons fight to save Sharon's life after stroke, massive cerebral hemorrhage. Oh dear.

Sharon has stroke

I heard this on the early morning news. We're shocked and dismayed. If Sharon can't lead Kadina, it dies. Please Lord, not Peres.